Musical Instrument Repair Off Bird Road: $85 Tres Setups

Miami-Guitars looks like a high-end showroom from the street, with Collings, Santa Cruz and Paul Reed Smith guitars on its stock list, but its busiest corner is the repair bench. The shop, at 4703 SW 72nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33155, posts one of the longest flat-rate repair menus in Miami-Dade, and it is one of the few places in the county that lists setups for the Cuban tres, the requinto and the bajo quinto alongside Stratocasters and Taylors.

The shop's own story is short and personal. The about page says Miami Guitars is run by a guitar enthusiast and a professional guitar player, and that the goal is to bring back the old way of buying instruments, from a place that feels more like a musician's home than a corporation. It also says the owners want to build alliances with local musicians, with bands promoting shows and trying gear in the room. The website gives no founding year, so take the shop as it presents itself today: a small, owner-run room aimed at working players.

That attitude carries over to repairs. The bottom of the repair menu says that if your job is not listed, you should reach out, and if they cannot take it on they will point you in the right direction. It also states plainly what the bench does not do: there is no re-painting or refinishing, because the shop has no spray area. Knowing that before you arrive saves a wasted drive with a worn-out lacquer finish.

Setup prices are split by instrument type, which is more honest than a single headline rate. On electrics, a guitar with a fixed bridge or tune-o-matic is $75, a tremolo or Bigsby guitar is $85, and a Floyd Rose or Evertune is $115. A non-standard setup with vintage truss rod access is also $115. On acoustics, a steel-string is $85, a nylon-string is $100, a 12-string is $100, and a Taylor is listed separately at $125.

The section that sets this bench apart is the one labelled Other. A ukulele, mandolin or dulcimer setup is $75, while a banjo, cuatro (listed as quattro), tres, requinto, quinta or bajo quinto is $85. In a city where plenty of players learned on a tres or play in a norteño or son band, finding a shop that names those instruments on its price list, instead of treating them as oddities, is worth the trip down SW 72nd Avenue.

If you only need strings, restringing a four- to six-string instrument with a fretboard cleaning is $40, a seven- or eight-string is $50, and a 12-string or nylon-string is $60. A Floyd Rose restring is $75, a figure that reflects the fiddly work of blocking and rebalancing the bridge. Bring your own strings or buy a set from the accessories wall on the way in.

Fretwork is priced in steps. A single fret level is $50, a fret end dressing is $100 and a full fret dressing is $200. A full refret is $400 in nickel-silver, $450 in Cryowire and $500 in stainless steel. Structural repairs run higher: crack repair is $25 per inch, binding repair is $15 per inch, a headstock repair is $350 and a neck reset is $800. An acoustic bridge repair or replacement is $300.

The electronics list is long enough to plan a full rewire around. An input jack replacement is $45, a pot replacement is $50 each, a switch replacement is $60, and a pickup replacement is $65 per pickup. A full rewire is $200, a bass preamp replacement is $150 and installing a piezo pickup in an acoustic is $165. Routing a single-coil cavity for a humbucker is $120.

A few entries are specific to South Florida's climate. Humidifying an instrument for three days is $80, or $120 for a week, which is useful for a guitar that spent the summer in a dry air-conditioned closet and has sharp fret ends. A dioxide bath is $80, a full body and neck deep clean is $150, and removing a stripped screw is $60. A fret-to-fretless conversion is $350.

The website footer gives the hours as Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm, and adds that the shop runs by appointment until further notice. The appointments page describes one-on-one time with staff to audition guitars in the private showroom. The repair page, though, opens with the line that repairs are available with walk-ins and appointments welcome. In practice, book through the appointments form if you also want to try guitars, and expect a repair drop-off to be accepted during open hours.

Sunday and Monday are closed days, so a guitar that breaks at a weekend gig waits until Tuesday morning. The shop does not publish a turnaround time, so ask when you drop off, especially for refrets and neck resets that need glue and clamp time.

Come prepared to describe the problem precisely. Note whether the buzz is on open strings or only past the 12th fret, whether the action changed after a trip, and which tuning you use, since a drop-tuned guitar needs a different setup from one in standard. If you play a tres or requinto with a custom string arrangement, bring a spare set and write the courses and gauges on a card so the tech can restring it exactly as you play it.

The shop sits a few blocks south of Bird Road, in the unincorporated stretch of Miami-Dade between Bird Road and Miller Drive. Bird Road itself is the main draw nearby. The Bird Road Art District, a cluster of artist studios and small galleries in the warehouse blocks along the road, is a good place to kill time while a setup is on the bench. Tropical Park, the big county park a short drive west, has lakes and a walking loop for a quieter break.

Miami-Guitars, 4703 SW 72nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33155. Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 6 pm, Sunday and Monday closed. Selected prices from the repair page: electric setup $75, tremolo setup $85, Floyd Rose setup $115, steel-string acoustic setup $85, tres or requinto setup $85, restring $40, input jack $45, full rewire $200, nickel-silver refret $400, neck reset $800, crack repair $25 per inch. No refinishing or re-painting. Book showroom visits through the appointments form on the website.